Standing Strong

Standing strong often means putting yourself in vulnerable positions. Exposed. I am looking at these trees that I encountered on a cold blustery winter hike in the pacific northwest up in the mountains and thinking about this while I was finishing up this painting. The trees look so strong and firm and able to endure.

I’m not sure why some people think that because one is brave with their voice that it means that it’s not scary to do so. I have always told my children that being brave is never about being fearless, but rather it’s about being afraid and doing what needs to be done anyway. Walking with and through that fear. Sometimes what we are called to do or called to say is bigger than our fear.

“…When we are stricken and cannot bear our lives any longer, then a tree has something to say to us: Be still! Be still! Look at me! Life is not easy, life is not difficult. Those are childish thoughts. Let God speak within you, and your thoughts will grow silent. You are anxious because your path leads away from mother and home. But every step and every day lead you back again to the mother. Home is neither here nor there. Home is within you, or home is nowhere at all…”
― Hermann Hesse, Bäume. Betrachtungen und Gedichte